Flowerpots for planting of herbaceous materials are well known. Flowerpots may vary in size from the smallest pots having a volume of only a few cubic inches to large pots capable of supporting a medium-size shrub or tree. Flowerpots may be formed from any suitable formable material, such as fired terra cotta, ceramics, metals, or plastics which may be readily injection-molded or blow-molded. Flowerpots may be strictly utilitarian, as in a nursery when used for the temporary raising of stock for subsequent transplantation into the ground, or may be the permanent containers for decorative plants in homes or commercial locations.
Flowerpots typically are provided with a curved rim extending around the upper opening, which rim is readily grasped by a person wanting to transport a flowerpot. Such transport is readily accomplished by most persons when a loaded flowerpot weighs only a few pounds. However, large flowerpots when loaded may weigh 50 to 100 pounds or more and are not readily carried or transported by an unaided person. Even lighter-loaded flowerpots may not be portable by older or disabled persons. In some applications, a two-wheeled dolly having a lifting flange may be used to lift and tilt a heavy flowerpot such that it may be relocated by movement on the wheels of the dolly. In applications wherein the loaded flowerpot weighs several hundred pounds or more, a lift truck of some sort is required for relocation.
Large commercial nurseries can afford lift trucks and dollies as a part of doing business. However, a small nursery or homeowner may not have even a simple dolly for moving intermediate-sized pots from one location to another on the premises; thus, pots in the 50-100 pound range are typically moved by the age-old expedient of manual labor, at risk to the back, arms, and legs of the mover.
What is needed in the art is a simple and inexpensive means for making a flowerpot readily portable by a single operator by rolling.
It is a principal object of the present invention to move planted flowerpots without resort to lifting the flowerpots.
It is a further object of the invention to prevent injury to flowerpot workers.